Re: Comfort

[Nigel Orr <nigel@xxxxxxx>]

At 22:40 17/10/00 +0100, you wrote:
>I know that several of you have Comfort and am wondering if you can
>share your views of a reasonable starting pack for Security and the
>first steps in HA.

To add to Mark's information, I'll tell you what I've got (if I can
remember) as another data point!

Comfort CPU (essential!)
1 extra LEM board (so I have a total of 16 in, 16 out) (essential for me)
1 Keypad (essential)
1 Doorphone (useful, most recent addition)

I will be getting the UCM shortly though, apparently being a masochist,
I'll probably stick to using the keypad for most programming (not
recommended by most folk!) and use the UCM to keep the PC up to date with
what the alarm is doing, turn on image capture in Away mode only etc etc.
(the UCM is the Comfort RS-232 serial interface, allows programming and
interface to Comfort from a PC)

I'll also be getting the TW7223/523 (is the 523 exactly the same, just an
older/US version, or somehow different- can't find any comparisons) X-10
interface soon, which is probably essential for most HA folk.

I'm expecting to use it to control things that move around (eg to turn off
the hoover when the doorbell or phone rings, maybe even one fitted to the
iron to avoid the inevitable 'did I turn the iron off' thing... I probably
won't trust X-10 for that, a timed cutout would probably be better!) and it
also means I can use the X10 mini timer kit I got for my birthday last year
(a year ago today actually, Happy Birthday to me etc etc) to control
Comfort.

The latter seems like a particularly useful feature- I can easily change
the time settings as a 'bedside alarm', and it can turn on a radio and
light, and the teamaker and microwave in the kitchen when I've been
particularly organised the night before, change Comfort from Night mode to
Day mode etc etc all with one X10 command.  Some folk on the group might be
surprised that I've found a Unique Selling Point for X10, but I'm not as
much of a Luddite as I get credit for... honest!

Where Comfort is currently lacking (IMHO, and it's not a big criticism!) is
a simple visual interface, maybe the Ocelot/Leopard thingummy is the answer
but I know next to nothing about it.  As a result, Comfort's not completely
taken over from my central heating timer and bedside alarm- yet, but it
probably will some day.  I've kept the CH timer for the 'normal' controls,
and Comfort is wired as an 'override', so I can force the heating or hot
water on remotely.

Oh, did I mention Comfort is fab, and you'll not regret buying it?

Nigel


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